Multilayer ceramic electronic component and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component includes preparing a ceramic green sheet, forming an internal electrode pattern by coating a paste for an internal electrode including a conductive powder including one or more of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co), the sum of which is 1 to 20 wt %, and including tin (Sn), on the ceramic green sheet, forming a ceramic multilayer structure by stacking ceramic green sheets on which the internal electrode pattern is formed, and forming a body including a dielectric layer and an internal electrode by sintering the ceramic multilayer structure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0098609 filed on Aug. 23, 2018 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent and a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, an electronic component using a ceramic material, forexample, a capacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectric element, a varistor,or a thermistor, includes a body formed of a ceramic material, aninternal electrode formed in the body, and an external electrodeinstalled on a surface of the body to be connected to the internalelectrode.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor of a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent includes a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, internalelectrodes disposed to face each other across the dielectric layer, andan external electrode that is electrically connected to the internalelectrode.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor may be miniaturized and to have highspecification and may be advantageously and easily installed and, thus,has been widely used as a component of a mobile communication device,such as a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a cellularphone.

Recently, along with high specification, and lightness, thinness,compactness, and smallness in electrical and electronic deviceindustries, there has been a need for a miniaturized, high-capacity, andsuper high-capacity electronic components.

In particular, there is a need for a technology for maximizingcapacitance per unit volume along with high capacity and miniaturizationof a multilayer ceramic capacitor.

Accordingly, in the case of an internal electrode, high capacity needsto be embodied by minimizing a volume and increasing a stacking numberwhile achieving a maximum area.

However, as an internal electrode is thinned, a ratio of a thickness toan area is lowered to increase sintering driving force and, thus, anincrease in electrode disconnection and lumping becomes serious.

Accordingly, to embody a high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor,there is a need for a method of embodying a miniaturized andhigh-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor with high reliability bypreventing electrode disconnection and electrode lumping, which is aproblem when a thinned internal electrode is formed.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a method ofmanufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, for a method ofembodying a miniaturized and high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitorwith high reliability by preventing electrode disconnection andelectrode lumping.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofmanufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component may includepreparing a ceramic green sheet, forming an internal electrode patternby coating a paste for an internal electrode including a conductivepowder including one or more of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium(Cr), and cobalt (Co), the sum of which is 1 to 20 wt %, based on atotal weight of the conductive powder, and including tin (Sn), on theceramic green sheet, forming a ceramic multilayer structure by stackingceramic green sheets on which the internal electrode pattern is formed,and forming a body including a dielectric layer and an internalelectrode by sintering the ceramic multilayer structure.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayerceramic electronic component manufactured using the method as describedabove may include a ceramic body including a dielectric layer and aninternal electrode, and an external electrode disposed on the ceramicbody, wherein the internal electrode includes a metallic crystal grainand a composite layer surrounding the metallic crystal grain andincluding one or more of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr),cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and tin (Sn).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a graph showing a comparison of a thermal contraction behaviorof an alloy of nickel (Ni) and tungsten (W) (Inventive Example 1), Nipowder without W (Comparative Example 1), and Ni powder including sulfur(S) of 2000 ppm (Comparative Example 2);

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating a ceramic greensheet with an internal electrode pattern formed thereon;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a multilayer ceramicelectronic component manufactured using a method of manufacturing amultilayer ceramic electronic component according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I′ of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion ‘A’ of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, an X direction may be defined as a first direction, anL direction, or a longitudinal direction, a Y direction may be definedas a second direction, a W direction, or a width direction, and a Zdirection may be defined as a third direction, a T direction, or athickness direction.

FIG. 1 is a graph showing a comparison of a thermal contraction behaviorof an alloy of nickel (Ni) and tungsten (W) (Inventive Example 1), Nipowder without W (Comparative Example 1), and Ni powder including sulfur(S) of 2000 ppm (Comparative Example 2).

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a ceramic green sheet with aninternal electrode pattern formed thereon.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a multilayer ceramicelectronic component manufactured using a method of manufacturing amultilayer ceramic electronic component according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I′ of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion ‘A’ of FIG. 4.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent and a multilayer ceramic electronic component manufacturedusing the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure are described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

Method of Manufacturing Multilayer Ceramic Electronic Component

A method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic componentaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure mayinclude preparing a ceramic green sheet including ceramic powder,forming an internal electrode pattern by coating a paste for an internalelectrode including a conductive powder including one or more oftungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co), the sumof which is 1 to 20 wt %, based on a total weight of the conductivepowder, and including tin (Sn), on the ceramic green sheet, forming aceramic multilayer structure by stacking ceramic green sheets on whichthe internal electrode pattern is formed, and forming a body including adielectric layer and an internal electrode by sintering the ceramicmultilayer structure.

Preparing Ceramic Green Sheet

A ceramic green sheet including ceramic powder is prepared.

The ceramic green sheet may be prepared by mixing ceramic powder, abinder, and a solvent, and so on to prepare slurry and forming theslurry using doctor blade in the form a sheet with a thickness ofseveral μm. Then, the ceramic green sheet may be sintered to form onedielectric layer 111 as shown in FIG. 4.

The ceramic green sheet may have a thickness equal to or less than 0.6μm and, thus, the dielectric layer may have a thickness equal to or lessthan 0.4 μm after being sintered.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, even ifa dielectric layer and an internal electrode are very thin, increase inelectrode disconnection and lumping may be effectively prevented and,thus, a dielectric layer with a thickness equal to or less than 0.4 μmmay be formed.

Forming Internal Electrode Pattern

An internal electrode pattern may be formed by coating the paste for theinternal electrode including a conductive powder including one or moreof tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co), thesum of which is 1 to 20 wt %, based on a total weight of the conductivepowder, and including tin (Sn), on the ceramic green sheet.

The internal electrode pattern may be formed using a screen printingmethod or a Gravure printing method.

There may be various problems such as electrode disconnection andelectrode lumping due to a sintering temperature difference between theinternal electrode paste and the ceramic green sheet. In particular, asa thickness of the internal electrode is reduced, the probability thatthe problem occurs may be gradually increased.

To overcome the problem such as electrode disconnection and electrodelumping, a method of dispersing a material to delay sintering of aconductive powder has been developed but the material is a ceramicmaterial that has degraded contact characteristics with a surface of Niand, thus, restrictedly delays sintering at the initial stage ofsintering and escapes to a dielectric layer to change thecharacteristics of a dielectric after sintering.

To embody sheet strength, some of used organic materials may remain asresidual carbon (crystallized carbon) during plasticization to cause aproblem such as electrode lumping and non-uniform sintering of adielectric layer. The problem may be partially overcome by processoptimization but it may be difficult to overcome the problem simplyusing process optimization along with thinning of an internal electrodeand a dielectric layer.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when oneor more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co which are high melting point metal areadded to a conductive powder, sintering of Ni at the initial stage ofsintering may be delayed and, simultaneously, the metal may also beapplied at high temperature in a next procedure to effectively preventan electrode from being degraded and, after sintering, the metal may bepresent in the internal electrode without escaping to a dielectric layerand, thus, the characteristics of a dielectric are not changed.

When a conductive powder without Sn is used, there is a worry in thatresidual carbon (crystallized carbon) observed like a skein on anelectrode surface is generated to cause a problem such as electrodelumping and non-uniform sintering of a dielectric layer but, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when theconductive powder includes Sn, residual carbon (crystallized carbon) maybe prevented from being formed due to a function of a dehydrogenationcatalyst of the conductive powder during plasticization.

Sn is barely solidified in Ni powder but has good wettability with aconductive powder and a low melting point and, thus, Sn may be thickenedon a surface of Ni crystal grain of an internal electrode during asintering procedure to form a composite layer including one or more ofW, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn, thereby preventing a crystal grainfrom being grown and further enhancing an effect of delaying sinteringof high melting point metal.

Accordingly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure, increase in electrode disconnection and lumping may beprevented and, in particular, even if a dielectric layer and an internalelectrode are very thin, an increase in the electrode disconnection andlumping may be effectively prevented.

As shown in FIG. 5, Sn is thickened on a surface of a crystal grain 121a of the internal electrode during a sintering procedure to form acomposite layer 121 b including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co and Niand Sn, thereby preventing a crystal grain from growing.

FIG. 1 is a graph showing comparison of a thermal contraction behaviorof an alloy of nickel (Ni) and tungsten (W) (Inventive Example 1), Nipowder without W (Comparative Example 1), and Ni powder including sulfur(S) of 2000 ppm (Comparative Example 2). In Inventive Example 1, contentof W is 10 wt % based on Ni powder.

As seen from FIG. 1, Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2, andInventive Example 1 have 271° C., 476° C., and 525° C. as contractiontemperature of −5%, respectively and, thus, Inventive Example 1 has anexcellent thermal contraction behavior.

In this case, one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, the sum of which is 1 to20 wt %, based on a total weight of the conductive powder, may beincluded based on a conductive powder.

When the sum of one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co is less than 1 wt %,there is a worry about degraded electrode connection and, when the sumis greater than 20 wt %, the amount of metal in the form of oxidepresent at an interface between the internal electrode and thedielectric layer is increased and, thus, there is a worry about adegraded capacitance.

Content of Sn based on a conductive powder may be equal to or greaterthan 1.5 wt %, based on a total weight of the conductive powder.

When Sn content is less than 1.5 wt %, an effect of preventing residualcarbon (crystallized carbon) or an effect of preventing a crystal grainfrom growing may be insufficient. It may not be required to particularlylimit an upper limit of content of Sn based on a conductive powder butthe upper limit of may be equal to or less than 4.0 wt %.

The conductive powder may include an alloy including tin (Sn) and atleast one selected from the group of W, Mo, Cr, and Co.

When the conductive powder includes an alloy including tin (Sn) and atleast one selected from the group of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, sintering may bedelayed irrespective of dispersibility.

The conductive powder may further include an alloy including one or moreof copper (Cu), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium(Rh), iridium (Ir), and ruthenium (Ru).

The conductive power may include one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co andmay include Sn in the form of a coating layer formed on a surface of theconductive powder.

When one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co and Sn are included in the form ofa coating layer on the surface of the conductive powder, conductivepowder particles may be prevented from contacting each otherirrespective of dispersibility of a conductive powder to delaysintering.

The coating layer may further include one or more of Cu, Ag, Pd, Pt, Rh,Ir, and Ru.

The coating layer may be formed using an atomic layer deposition (ALD)process.

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) process is a technology of depositinga thin film or a passivation layer on a surface of a substrate during asemiconductor process and a technology of stacking atomic layers one byone unlike a conventional deposition technology of chemically covering athin film. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) process advantageously hasexcellent step-coverage, easily adjusts a thickness of a thin film, andeasily forms a uniform thin film.

The coating layer may be formed using an atomic layer deposition (ALD)process and, thus, a dense and uniform coating layer may be formed.

The paste for forming the internal electrode may further include sulfur(S) in an amount of 300 ppm or less (excluding 0) based on content ofthe conductive powder.

In general, a conductive paste for an internal electrode may includesulfur (S) in an amount of 300 ppm or less (excluding 0) based oncontent of the conductive that is a contraction retarder and, whencontent of S is greater than 300 ppm, there may be a worry in that acomposite layer including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni andSn is non-uniformly formed after being sintered.

The internal electrode pattern may have a thickness equal to or lessthan 0.5 μm and, thus, the internal electrode may have a thickness equalto or less than 0.4 μm after being sintered. According to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure, even if a dielectric layer and aninternal electrode are very thin, increase in electrode disconnectionand lumping may be effectively prevented and, thus, an internalelectrode with a thickness equal to or less than 0.4 μm may be formed.

The conductive powder may be Ni powder with a higher melting point thanSn.

Forming Ceramic Multilayer Structure

Ceramic green sheets with internal electrode patterns formed thereon maybe stacked to form a ceramic multilayer structure.

In this case, the ceramic multilayer structure may be pressurized andcompressed in a stack direction.

Then, the ceramic multilayer structure may be cut for each regioncorresponding to one capacitor to form a chip.

In this case, the ceramic multilayer structure may be cut to alternatelyexpose ends of the internal electrode patterns through a lateral surfaceof the ceramic multilayer structure. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B, a ceramic green sheet (FIG. 2A) in which an internal electrodepattern P1 is formed as the first internal electrode 121 on a ceramicgreen sheet S after being sintered and a ceramic green sheet (FIG. 2B)in which an internal electrode pattern P2 is formed as the secondinternal electrode 122 on the ceramic green sheet S after being sinteredmay be alternately stacked.

Forming Body

The ceramic multilayer structure may be sintered to form a bodyincluding the dielectric layer and the internal electrode.

The sintering process may be performed in a reduction condition. Thesintering process may be performed while adjusting a heating rate butthe present disclosure not limited thereto and, in this case, theheating rate may be 30° C./60 s to 50° C./60 s at 700° C. or less.

Then, an external electrode may be formed to cover the lateral surfaceof the body and to be electrically connected to the internal electrodeexposed through the lateral surface of the body. Then, a plating layerformed of Ni, Sn, or the like may be formed on a surface of the externalelectrode.

It may not be required to particularly limit a size of the body.

However, to simultaneously achieve miniaturization and high capacity, adielectric layer and an internal electrode need to be thinned toincrease a stack number, thereby remarkably enhancing an effect ofpreventing increase in electrode disconnection and lumping in amultilayer ceramic electronic component with a size equal to or lessthan 0402 (0.4 mm×0.2 mm) according to the present disclosure.Accordingly, the body may have a length equal to or less than 0.4 mm anda width equal to or less than 0.2 mm.

Multilayer Ceramic Electronic Component

A multilayer ceramic electronic component 100 manufactured using theaforementioned method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosuremay include a body 110 including the dielectric layer 111 and theinternal electrodes 121 and 122, and external electrodes 131 and 132disposed on the body 110 and, in this case, the internal electrodes 121and 122 may include the metallic crystal grain 121 a and the compositelayer 121 b surrounding the metallic crystal grain 121 a and includingone or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn.

The body 110 may be configured in such a way that the dielectric layer111 and the internal electrodes 121 and 122 are alternately stacked.

A detailed shape of the body 110 is not particularly limited but, asillustrated in the drawings, the body 110 may have a hexahedral shape ora similar shape thereto. Due to contraction of ceramic powder includedin the body 110 during a sintering procedure, the body 110 may have asubstantially hexahedral shape but not a hexahedral shape with acomplete straight line.

The body 110 may include first and second surfaces 1 and 2 facing eachother in the thickness direction (the Z direction), third and fourthsurfaces 3 and 4 connected to the first and second surfaces 1 and 2 andfacing each other in the width direction (the Y direction), and fifthand sixth surfaces 5 and 6 connected to the first and second surfaces 1and 2, connected to the third and fourth surfaces 3 and 4, and facingeach other in the longitudinal direction (the X direction).

The plurality of dielectric layers 111 forming the body 110 may be in asintered state and may be integrated into each other in such a way thatit is difficult to check a boundary between adjacent dielectric layers111 without use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

A material of the dielectric layer 111 is not particularly limited aslong as sufficient capacitance is acquirable and may be, for example,barium titanate (BaTiO₃) powder. A material for forming the dielectriclayer 111 may be formed by adding various ceramic additives, organicsolvents, plasticizers, bonding agents, dispersants, or the like topowder such as barium titanate (BaTiO₃) according to the objective ofthe present disclosure.

The capacitor body 110 may include a cover layer 112 that is formed ateach of upper and lower portions thereof, that is, at opposite endportions in the thickness direction (the Z direction) thereof and isformed by stacking dielectric layers without an internal electrode. Thecover layer 112 may maintain the reliability of a capacitor with respectto external shocks.

It may not be required to particularly limit the thickness of the coverlayer 112. However, to easily achieve miniaturization and high capacityof a capacitor component, the cover layer 112 may have a thickness equalto or less than 20 μm.

It may not be required to particularly limit a thickness of thedielectric layer 111.

However, according to the present disclosure, even if the dielectriclayer and the internal electrode are very thin, an increase in electrodedisconnection and lumping may be effectively present and, thus, thedielectric layer 111 may have a thickness equal to or less than 0.4 μmto easily achieve miniaturization and high capacity of a capacitorcomponent.

The thickness of the dielectric layer 111 may refer to an averagethickness of the dielectric layers 111 disposed between the first andsecond internal electrodes 121 and 122.

The average thickness of the dielectric layers 111 may be measured byscanning an image of a section of the body 110 in a length-thickness(L-T) direction using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

For example, with regard to arbitrary dielectric layer extracted fromthe image of the section in the length-thickness (L-T) direction of thebody 110, which is cut at a central portion of a width direction of thebody 110 and is scanned using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM),thicknesses may be measured at 30 points spaced apart at equidistantintervals in the longitudinal direction to measure an average value.

The thicknesses may be measured at the 30 points spaced apart atequidistant intervals, which refers to a capacity formation portion atwhich the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 overlap witheach other.

Then, the internal electrodes 121 and 122 and a dielectric layer may bealternately stacked and may include the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122. The first and second internal electrodes 121 and122 may be alternately disposed to face each other across the dielectriclayer 111 configuring the body 110 and may be exposed through the thirdand fourth surfaces 3 and 4 of the body 110, respectively.

In this case, the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 maybe electrically separated from each other by the dielectric layer 111disposed therebetween.

The conductive paste may be printed using a screen printing method, aGravure printing method, or the like but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto.

Hereinafter, the first internal electrode 121 is described withreference to FIG. 5, which may be applied to the second electrode 122 inthe same way.

The first internal electrode 121 may include the metallic crystal grain121 a, and the composite layer 121 b surrounding the metallic crystalgrain 121 a and including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni andSn.

The metallic crystal grain 121 a may be formed like a polyhedron made byuniformly arranging metallic atoms. The composite layer 121 b includingone or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn may surround themetallic crystal grain 121 a. That is, the composite layer 121 bincluding one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn may be presentat a metal grain boundary. The composite layer 121 b including one ormore of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn may prevent the metalliccrystal grain 121 a from growing outward to prevent internal electrodedisconnection and to prevent internal electrode lumping.

The composite layer 121 b including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co,and Ni and Sn may almost completely surround at least one metalliccrystal grain 121 a.

Since Sn has a low melting point, Sn may be thickened on a surface of acrystal grain of an internal electrode during a sintering procedure andmay be uniformly distributed on an entire area of the composite layer121 b and one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co which are high melting pointmetal may be dispersed in the composite layer 121 b.

When a ratio of a length of a portion on which the internal electrode isactually formed to an entire length of the internal electrode 121 isdefined as connectivity C of the internal electrode, the composite layer121 b including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn mayprevent the metallic crystal grain 121 a from growing outward and, thus,the internal electrode 121 may satisfy 85%≤C.

The composite layer 121 b including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co,and Ni and Sn may have a thickness of 1 to 15 nm.

When the thickness of the composite layer 121 b including one or more ofW, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Sn is less than 1 nm, a metal crystalgrain may not be sufficiently prevented from growing outward and, whenthe thickness is greater than 15 nm, the thickness of the compositelayer 121 b including one or more of W, Mo, Cr, and Co, and Ni and Snmay not be uniform and, thus, an effect of preventing the metal crystalgrain from growing outward may be degraded.

The metallic crystal grain 121 a may be a Ni crystal grain.

It may not be required to particularly limit a thickness of the firstand second internal electrodes 121 and 122.

However, even if a dielectric layer and an internal electrode are verythin, increase in electrode disconnection and lumping may be effectivelyprevented and, thus, the first and second internal electrodes 121 and122 may have a thickness equal to or less than 0.4 μm to easily achieveminiaturization and high capacity of a capacitor component.

The thickness of the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122may refer to an average thickness of the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122.

The average thickness of the first and second internal electrodes 121and 122 may be measured by scanning an image of a section of the body110 in a length-thickness (L-T) direction using a scanning electronmicroscope (SEM).

For example, with regard to arbitrary first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 extracted from the image of the section in thelength-thickness (L-T) direction of the body 110, which is cut at acentral portion of a width direction of the body 110 and is scannedusing a scanning electronic microscope (SEM), thicknesses may bemeasured at 30 points spaced apart at equidistant intervals in thelongitudinal direction to measure an average value.

The thicknesses may be measured at the 30 points spaced apart atequidistant intervals that is a capacity formation portion at which thefirst and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 overlap with eachother.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 may be disposed in the body 110 andmay be connected to the internal electrodes 121 and 122. As shown inFIG. 4, the capacitor component 100 may include the first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 and the first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132 connected thereto, respectively. According to thepresent embodiment, although the structure in which the capacitorcomponent 100 includes two external electrodes 131 and 132 is described,the number, the shape, or the like of the external electrodes 131 and132 may be changed depending on a shape of the internal electrodes 121and 122 or other objectives.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 may be formed of any material aslong as the material has electrical conductivity, such as metal, adetailed material may be determined in consideration of electricalcharacteristics, structural stability, and so on, and the externalelectrodes 131 and 132 may have a multi-layered structure.

For example, the external electrodes 131 and 132 may include electrodelayers 131 a and 132 a disposed in the body 110 and plating layers 131 band 132 b formed on the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a.

As a more detailed example of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a, theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be a sintered electrode includingconductive metal and glass and, in this case, the conductive metal maybe Cu. In addition, the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be aresin-based electrode including a plurality of metallic particles andconductive resin.

As a more detailed example of the plating layers 131 b and 132 b, theplating layers 131 b and 132 b may be an Ni plating layer or an Snplating layer, may be formed in such a way that an Ni plating layer andan Sn plating layer are sequentially formed on the electrode layers 131a and 132 a, or may include a plurality of Ni plating layers and/or aplurality of Sn plating layers.

It may not be required to particularly limit a size of the multilayerceramic electronic component.

However, to simultaneously achieve miniaturization and high capacity, athickness of a dielectric layer and an internal electrode needs to bereduced and a stack number needs to be increased, thereby remarkablyenhancing an effect of preventing increase in electrode disconnectionand lumping according to the present disclosure in a multilayer ceramicelectronic component with a size equal to or less than 0402 (0.4 mm×0.2mm). Accordingly, the multilayer ceramic electronic component may have alength equal to or less than 0.4 mm and a width equal to or less than0.2 mm. In the multilayer ceramic electronic component, a ratio of alength of a portion on which an internal electrode is actually formed toan entire length of the internal electrode may be greater than or equalto 85%.

As set forth above, according to the present disclosure, a paste for aninternal electrode including a conductive powder including one or moreof W, Mo, Cr, and Co, the sum of which is 1 to 20 wt %, based on a totalweight of the conductive powder, and including Sn is used and, thus,internal electrode lumping and internal electrode disconnection may beprevented.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramicelectronic component, the method comprising: preparing a ceramic greensheet; forming an internal electrode pattern by coating a paste for aninternal electrode including a conductive powder including at least oneselected from the group of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr),and cobalt (Co), the sum of which is 1 to 20 wt %, based on a totalweight of the conductive powder, and including tin (Sn), on the ceramicgreen sheet; forming a ceramic multilayer structure by stacking ceramicgreen sheets on which the internal electrode pattern is formed; andforming a body including a dielectric layer and an internal electrode bysintering the ceramic multilayer structure.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the ceramic green sheet has a thickness equal to or less than0.6 μm and the internal electrode pattern has a thickness equal to orless than 0.5 μm.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein Sn is provided in anamount of 1.5 wt % or more, based on a total weight of the conductivepowder.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive powder includesan alloy including tin (Sn) and at least one selected from the group oftungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co).
 5. The methodof claim 4, wherein the conductive powder further includes an alloyincluding at least one selected from the group of copper (Cu), silver(Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), andruthenium (Ru).
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive powderincludes a coating layer, and the coating layer is formed on the surfaceof the conductive powder, and the coating layer includes at least oneselected from the group of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr),and cobalt (Co), and tin (Sn).
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thecoating layer further includes at least one selected from the group ofcopper (Cu), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh),iridium (Ir), and ruthenium (Ru).
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein thecoating layer is formed using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive powder further includessulfur (S) in an amount of 300 ppm or less (excluding 0) based on atotal content of the conductive powder.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the conductive powder is nickel (Ni) powder.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the body has a length equal to or less than 0.4 mm anda width equal to or less than 0.2 mm.
 12. A multilayer ceramicelectronic component manufactured using the method of claim 1,comprising: a ceramic body including a dielectric layer and an internalelectrode; and an external electrode disposed on the ceramic body,wherein the internal electrode includes a metallic crystal grain and acomposite layer surrounding the metallic crystal grain, and thecomposite layer includes at least one selected from the group oftungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co), andnickel (Ni) and tin (Sn).
 13. The multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent of claim 12, wherein the dielectric layer has a thicknessequal to or less than 0.4 μm and the internal electrode has a thicknessequal to or less than 0.4 μm.
 14. The multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent of claim 12, wherein the composite layer has a thicknesswithin a range from 1 to 15 nm.
 15. The multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent of claim 12, wherein the metallic crystal grain is a nickel(Ni) crystal grain.
 16. The multilayer ceramic electronic component ofclaim 12, wherein 85%≤C, where C is a ratio of a length of a portion onwhich an internal electrode is actually formed to an entire length ofthe internal electrode.
 17. A method of manufacturing a multilayerceramic electronic component, the method comprising: preparing a ceramicgreen sheet; forming an internal electrode pattern by coating a pastefor an internal electrode including a conductive powder including atleast one selected from the group of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo),chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co), and including tin (Sn) in a content of1.5 wt % or more, based on a total weight of the conductive powder, onthe ceramic green sheet; forming a ceramic multilayer structure bystacking ceramic green sheets on which the internal electrode pattern isformed; and forming a body including a dielectric layer and an internalelectrode by sintering the ceramic multilayer structure.
 18. The methodof claim 17, wherein the ceramic green sheet has a thickness equal to orless than 0.6 μm and the internal electrode pattern has a thicknessequal to or less than 0.5 μm.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein theconductive powder includes an alloy including tin (Sn) and at least oneselected from the group of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr),cobalt (Co).
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the conductive powderfurther includes an alloy including at least one selected from the groupof copper (Cu), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), rhodium(Rh), iridium (Ir), and ruthenium (Ru).